Sole assembly for footwear



Dec. 12, 1961 E. L. RAMIREZ SOLE ASSEMBLY FOR FOOTWEAR Filed July 6,1960 INVENTOR. ELISEQ LDZA RAMIREZ BYW I United States Patent ()fiiee3,012,342 Patented Dec. 12, 1961 3,012,342 SOLE ASSEMBLY FOR FOOTWEAREliseo Loza Ramirez, 2211 Mount Vernon St., Philadelphia, Pa. Filed July6, 1960, Ser. No. 41,195 6 Claims. (Cl. 36-3) This invention relates tofootwear and, more particularly, to a sole assembly therefor.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sole assembly forvarious types of shoes and other articles of footwear which is extremelycomfortable in all types of conditions, and which will provide adequatesupport to the various parts of the foot during use.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a sole assemblyfor footwear that can be readily attached to conventional shoes, usedwith sandals, or used in con junction with any other type of footwear ina simple and convenient manner.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a soleassembly for footwear having laterally outwardly opening ducts and aperforated inner sole which will accommodate the passage of air into andout of the interior of the article of footwear directly through the soleso as to provide air flow directly contiguous to the sole of the foot.

Still an additional object of the present invention is to provide a soleassembly of the above type which includes a detachable adhesive stripwhich can be used to close oif or provide access to such laterallyopening ducts of the outer sole to facilitate the use of this outer solein all types of weather.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a soleassembly for footwear of the above type which may be readily worn in therain, whereby any entry of moisture into the article of footwear throughthe ports in communication with the ducts is minimized, and when suchadhesive strip is applied to the periphery of such outer sole assemblyit completely blocks off any flow of air or water into the interior ofthe footwear.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a sole assemblyfor footwear in which an extremely comfortable cushion-like effect isobtained at all times, both with the adhesive strip applied and removed,thus facilitating the use of such sole assembly for all types offootwear and for all weather conditions.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a article of footwear having asole assembly made in accordance with the present invention, with one ofthe parts partly removed;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view, with parts broken away, of thesole assembly for footwear made in accordance with the present inventionremoved from any other footwear structure;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged transverse cross sectional view taken along line33 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, a sole assembly made inaccordance with the present invention is shown to include an outer sole12 of generally flexible sheet-like construction having an upstandinglongitudinally extending rib 14 and a plurality of angularly related andlaterally outwardly extending side ribs 16 which are also upstanding todefine a substantially common plane with the uppermost surface of thelongitudinal rib 14. The laterally extending ribs 16 define ducts 18therebetween for transmitting air in a manner hereinafter more fullydescribed.

At the toe end of the outer sole 12, an arcuate front rib 21 defines thefront end of the sole. Between such arcuate front rib 21 and the frontone of the laterally extending ribs 16 on the inboard side of thelongitudinal rib 14, is a transversely extending rib 20 which terminatesadjacent to the center longitudinal axis of the outer sole. This rib 20serves as a support for the big toe of the foot which tends to exertmaximum downward pressure upon the front end of the sole. Between theinner end of this rib 20, and the opposite lateral side of the sole, isa space 22 which is provided with no support, but which provides thedepression for accommodating yieldable downward pressure of the othertoes of the foot during use.

An inner sole 24 of suitable flexible material, is provided with aplurality of longtiudinally spaced apart and substantially V-shaped rowsof ports 26 which coincide with the ducts 18 between the laterallyextending ribs 16. These ports 26 provide communication between theinterior of the article of footwear and the ducts 18 which openlaterally outwardly toward the opposite lateral sides of the soleassembly. This inner sole 24 is sealingly mounted upon the top of theouter sole, in any desired manner, with the front end thereof overlyingthe front arcuate rib 21, and the rear end thereof overlying the reararcuate rib 19. The rear arcuate rib 19 defines a depression 17 with therearmost ones of the laterally extending ribs 16 which accommodatesyieldable downward pressure of the heel of the foot during use.

With the inner sole 24 assembled with the outer sole 12, a flexiblestrip 28 having adhesive 30 on one side is placed around the entireperiphery of the sole assembly, thus blocking communication between theinterior of the ducts 18 and the atmosphere, while allowing air flowbetween the ports 26 and each of the ducts 18. While this strip 28 maybe removed if desired, such as in hot weather, to provide air flow fromthe exterior of the shoe to the ducts 1'8, and thence through the ports26 to the sole of the foot, such strip 28 may remain intact duringinclement weather to prevent the entry of cold wind, air, and moisture,and thus making the shoe practically waterproof. However, it will berecognized that even with the strip 28 applied, there is circulation ofair through the article of footwear through the ports 26 and respectiveducts 18, which circulation serves to provide additional comfort to thewearer. Of course, with the strip 28 removed, exterior air is drawndirectly into the interior of the article of footwear 32, thusincreasing the comfort at all times.

It will also be recognized that with the parts assembled in the mannerhereinbefore described, the longitudinal rib 14 adds suflicient body tothe sole assembly to prevent discomfort, which is also facilitated bythe laterally extending ribs 16. Nevertheless, the space between therespective ribs substantially adds to the overall flexibility andcomfort of the sole assembly when applied to any article of footwear, orused substantially alone as a sandal.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to theconstruction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such isnot to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, whichis best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A sole assembly for an article of footwear comprising, incombination, an outer sole, an inner sole, said outer sole havinglaterally outwardly extending air passageways, said inner sole havingports communicating with said air passageways, a continuous stripdetachably mounted upon the periphery of said outer sole enclosing saidpassageways, said outer sole comprising a substantially continuousflexible sheet having a substantially continuous ground engagingsurface, a plurality of upstanding laterally extending ribs definingsaid laterally opening air passageways, and said outer sole furthercomprising a substantially central longitudinal extending rib contiguousto all of said laterally extending ribs.

2. A sole assembly as set forth in claim 1, further comprising atransverse rib at one lateral side of said longitudinal rib inclinedangularly with respect to said longitudinal rib adjacent to the toe endof said sole assembly, an arcuate rib defining the front end of saidouter sole, said angular rib underlying the big toe of the foot and theside of said outer sole assembly opposite said angular rib defining anenlarged depression with said arcuate rib accommodating yieldablepressure of the re .maining toes ofthe foot.

3. A sole assembly as set forth in claim 2, further comprising anarcuate rib adjacent to the heel end of said outer sole defining therear extremity of said sole assembly, and the space between said reararcuate rib and the adjacent terminal one of said laterally extendingribs defining a depression for accommodating yieldable pressure oftheheel of the foot.

4. A sole assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein said laterallyextending ribs on each side of said longitudinal rib extend insubstantially spaced apart parallel relationship.

5. Asole assembly as set forth in claim 4, wherein said inner soleoverlies all of said ribs, said inner sole having rows of said portscorresponding in general layout to the layout of said air passagewaysand accommodating the flow of air therethrough.

6. A sole assembly for an article of footwear comprising, incombinatioman outer sole, an inner sole, said outer sole havinglaterally outwardly extending air passageways, said innersole havingports communicating with said air passageways, and'a continuous stripdetachably carried by the periphery of said outer sole enclosing 'saidpassageways, said outer sole comprising a substan:

tially continuous flexible sheet having a substantiallycontinuous'grouncl engaging surface, a plurality of upstanding laterallyextending ribs defining said laterally opening air passagewaygasubstantially central longitudinal rib contiguous to all of said ribs, atransvcrse'rib at one lateral side of said central rib inclinedangularly with respect to said longitudinal rib' adjacent to the toe endof said sole assembly, an arcuate rib'defining the front end of saidouter sole, said angular rib underlying the big toe of the foot, and theside of said outer sole assembly opposite said angular rib defining anenlarged depression with said arcuate rib accommodating yieldabledownward pressure of the remaining toes of a foot, an arcuate ribadjacent to the heel end of said outer sole defining the rear extremityof said, sole assembly, the space between said rear arcuate rib and theadjacent terminal one of said laterally extending ribs defining adepression for accommodating yieldable downward pressure of the heel ofthe foot, said laterally extending ribs on each side of saidlongitudinal rib extending in substantially spaced apart parallelrelationship, said inner sole overlying all of said ribs, and said innersole having rows of said ports corresponding in general layout to thegeneral layout of said air passageways and accommodating the flow of airtherethrough in all positions of said continuous'strip detachablycarried by the periphery of said outer sole assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,932,557 Meucci Oct. 31, 1933 2,098,412 Bovay Nov. 9, 1937 2,239,211Wylie Apr. 22, 1941 2,751,692 Cortina June 26, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS14,221 Great Britain July 15, 1852 256,994 Italy f Ian. 30, 1928 495,067Germany Apr. 14, 1929 506,416 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1937 845,766Germany Aug. 4, 1952 1,022,102 France Dec. 10, 1952 286,471 SwitzerlandFeb. 16, 1953 539,895 Italy Feb. 25, 1956 763,878 Great Britain ,Dec.19, 6

